Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 11:17 am on 24 June 2020.
Llywydd, every time I answer a question I have to correct Members. To begin with, I think it's just a mistake, but when I have to correct it time after time, I begin to think that it's done deliberately. The Member knows perfectly well that there is no rule of the sort that he describes. If it was a rule, there would be a regulation. There is no regulation. The regulation says stay local. Five miles is advice to people as to what 'stay local' might mean, and it would be very helpful if the leader of the opposition were to be clearer in his questioning so that people don't get the wrong impression. People must stay local; they must interpret that in their own localities.
We have retained the 5-mile rule for another two weeks. If everything is as we hope it will be by the start of July, we will be able to confirm that that will no longer apply in Wales. It has been a very important part of our armoury to prevent the spread of the virus from one community to another. Mr Davies represents a constituency in the far south-west of Wales where people have been very anxious about visitors from beyond that part of Wales, from places where the virus has had a more virulent spread, coming and bringing that virus with them. Because we have had a 'stay local' rule in Wales, places like Pembrokeshire have been very much shielded from the impact of coronavirus. There's the success of our policy, and it's felt directly by the Member's own constituents.